MSGID: 1:317/3 64514faa   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   May 2, 2023 - Dual Marvels of New Mexico   
      
      New Mexico   
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      The glistening patch of white tucked in southern New Mexico’s Tularosa   
      Valley marks the Earth’s largest gypsum dune field, most of which is   
      protected as White Sands National Park. On April 29, 2023, the Moderate   
      Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra   
      satellite acquired a true-color image encompassing not only White Sands   
      National Park but also the dark Carrizozo Malpaís Lava Flow.   
      
      Gypsum is a common mineral found in sedimentary rocks (rocks formed   
      from layer upon layer of sediment laid down by wind or water), but it   
      is extremely rare that gypsum forms sand dunes. The Tularosa Valley is   
      a basin sitting between two mountain ranges which are rich in   
      sedimentary rocks. Over time, as rain washed over the mountains it   
      dissolved the gypsum and carried it to the lowest part of the basin,   
      where it collected in a playa known as Lake Lucero. Eventually the   
      intense heat in the northern Chihuahuan Desert evaporated most of the   
      water in the basin, leaving behind crystalline gypsum (selenite), which   
      then was carried by the wind to form great undulating, bright white   
      sand dunes that span about 275 square miles (710 square kilometers).   
      
      The forces that created the black basaltic rock of the Carrizozo   
      Malpaís Lava Flow, north of White Sands, were entirely different than   
      the action of water and wind that created the gypsum dunes. Little   
      Black Peak, an inactive cinder cone located at the northern end of   
      Carrizozo Malpaís, is the highest point on the larger shield volcano.   
      Approximately 5,000 years ago, a vent erupted at Little Black Peak and   
      lasted several decades. The event created the second youngest lava flow   
      in New Mexico and one of the longest flows from the Holocene Epoch.   
      From its northernmost to southernmost points, the it stretches 50 miles   
      (75 kilometers) across the Chihuahuan Desert.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 4/29/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (86.2 KB),  500m (216 KB),  250m (136.6 KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-05-02   
       
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